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The farm bill was passed by the Senate yesterday and has moved to the House floor for a vote expected today. Then it moves to the White House to be signed into law by President Trump.

The $867 billion-dollar bill is a massive piece of legislation passed every five years or so that sets our farm and food policy.

Mostly because of efforts by House Republicans to increase work requirements for SNAP recipients, the bill was not finished at its Sept. 30 deadline. Without the drastic SNAP changes, the bill was swiftly passed through the Senate. It remains to be seen if House Republicans fill fight back on the bill today without the SNAP changes.

The effort would have increased work requirements to all “able-bodied” adults capable of work, mandating that they work or do work training for 20 hours per week. SNAP feeds about 42 million Americans each year, with an average cost of $1.86 per meal, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

What does SNAP have to do with farms? Aside from relying on SNAP recipients as customers at farmers markets, 28 percent of agricultural graders and sorters rely on SNAP for their own livelihoods, the highest of any job category, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Workers who bring food to our tables often cannot afford food themselves.

Sam Fromartz, Editor in Chief of the Food & Environment Reporting Network, calls it a “sort of historic compromise,” noting that the framework of the bill essentially remained the same, and may have collapsed if the “radical attempt” to roll back SNAP access had passed.

“It was kind of clear once Republicans lost the House. Because if they weren’t going to compromise on that aspect of the legislation, and really remove this Draconian cut that they wanted, Democrats would not have voted for bill,” he said. “It just would have gone into the next session and they would’ve had to start from the beginning in writing a whole new farm bill.”

But the battle against food stamps isn’t over, as the fight has long preceded the farm bill debates, he said. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said after the farm bill is passed, the USDA will propose a rule to crack down on work-requirement waivers for SNAP recipients, according to Politico.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell inspects a piece of hemp taken from a bale of hemp at a processing plant in Louisville, Ky., Thursday, July 5, 2018. McConnell led the push in Congress to legalize hemp. (AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner)

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Other highlights:

Farm subsidies were expanded to allow nieces, nephews and cousins of farmers to receive up to $125,000 each if they are involved in the farm. The subsidy previously only applied to immediate family. “The justification was that farm income is down, and farmers are under great pressure, partially due to trade war that this administration created, but that’s a definite expansion of subsidies,” Fromartz said.

Industrial hemp was legalized, after being championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, with the goal of expanding the hemp industry in his home state, Kentucky. Legalization will have massive effects on the CBD industry, create new opportunities for farming and likely become a multibillion-dollar industry. Without varying laws state to state, there’s much more opportunity for growth. “It starts to go beyond topicals and oils once you start legalizing more aspects of how this plant can be used and grown,” Cindy Bencosme, founder of Terrestrial Roots, said.

Organic farming received $395 million for organic research, more than double its current amount, which will allow new opportunities for technological advances, Melissa Hughes, Chief Mission Officer and General Counsel of Organic Valley and VP of the board of the Organic Trade Association, said.

I am a food writer based in Brooklyn, where I’ve written for Brooklyn Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Journal News and others. I love telling stories of the people behind…Read More

I am a food writer based in Brooklyn, where I’ve written for Brooklyn Magazine, Paste Magazine, The Journal News and others. I love telling stories of the people behind our food, especially outside the restaurant world. I love cooking, food history, nutrition, the psychology of food and supporting food justice initiatives. Snacks are also awesome. When I’m not overthinking what’s on the plate or belting country tunes in the kitchen, I enjoy theatre and tap dance. Follow me on Instagram and Twitter @bak251.Read Less